Folding shelf



g- 14 1956 D. R. SCHNEIDER 2753724 FOLDLING SHELF' F'iled Aug. 9. 1954 INVENTOR DOUGL.AS R. SCHNEIDER ATTORNEY United States Patent O FOLDllN-G SHELF Douglas R. Schneider, Seafoxd, N. Y.

Application August 9, 1954, Seria'l'No. 448,487

Claims. (C1. 1211-93) 'The present invention relates primafily to folding shelves and more particnlarly to adjustable folding shelves or racks adaptable to receive and hold articles for display, storage, and/m other purposes.

An object of the present invention is to provide a folding shelf that is self-adjust'ing to support anti hold articles pl-aced thereon.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a folding shelf which when not in use folds substantially flush With the surface supporting the same and when holding articles projects from the supporting surface substantially only to the extent of the size ;of the art'icles.

Still another object of the present invent'ion is to provide a combined folding shelf and rack for holding and display-ing articles placed thereon with a minimum part of the articles held and displayed unexposed and with the articles readily accessible.

A f'nrther object of the present invention is to provide a folding shelf that is easily and readily mounted on a supporting surface and wh'ich gives a neat appearance when empty or holding articles.

Another further object of the present invention is to' provide a folding shelf that is light in weight, compaet in a folded condition, reliable in service, easy and cheap to manufacture, and which has a minimum of dust and dirt collecting surfaces.

The above and further objects and features of the present invention will be more apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment thereof, wherein reference is made to the accornpanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the folding shelf of the present invention with an article thereon;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the shelf with an article thereon of maximurn size;

Fig. 3 is an end view 013 the shelf With a smaller article thereon;

Fig. 4 is an end view of the shelf in a folded osition; and

Fig. 5 is a detailed sectional view of the shelf taken on line 55 of Fig. l.

Referring now to the drawings, the shelf is shown secured to or mounted on a vertical supporting surface 11 which may be, for example, a door, Wall or any Suitable surface; and While this surface is shown as a flat vertical surface, it Will be apparent that the supporting surface for the shelf need not be vertical and the shelf is equally adaptable for mounting on a sloping surface, and it may be either a backward or forward sloping surface. It will also be apparent that although the present invention is referred to as a folding shelf, it also functions as a rack or shelf-rack in that it securely supports the articles placed therein o1 thereon. This feature of securely supporting and/or holding the articles associated therewith makes the shelf adaptable for mounting on a door.

Secured as by screws 12 to the supporting surface 11 2,758,724 Patented Aug. 14, 1956 are a =pair of -similar mounting brackets 13 spaced apart horizontally substantially equa'l to the length of the shelf 16, er wl1at -is :termed herein the article support'ing rnember of the shelf, has an elongatecl main '01 central seetion 18 between two arm sections 19, with the la'1fter' terminating in the above-rhentioned en sec'tions 15. The

e'nd =sect'ions 15 a-re substantially at ri'ght angles m arm sections 19 which in turn are substantially at right'an'gle's to the rnain cent-ral -secfionl8 0f member 16 and in. the sa-me plane. Hence, as the member 16 pivots about the ends 15 supported in the lower emls of brack'ets 13, the central secfi0n 18 thereof will move in an arc 'tdward and away from the support'ing surface '11.

The npper U%haped mernber -or bail 17, or 'What is ter-med herein the arficle holdin'g or clarnping mern'ber of the shelf, has an e'longated ma'in or een'tral seetion 21 with right angle amxs Z2 'at the ends thereo'f Which terrninate at the ends thereof in r"ight angle 'bentsecfioh's 1 The bent 23 parallel to the main neutral se'ctibn 21. sections 23 extend toward each other from the arm 'sec tions 22 and contirnue at their immer ends into arm s'ections 24, the latter terminating in the end sections 15a. The -sec'ti0ns 15a, 24, 23 and 21 are all in the sa;me plane and parallel. The arm sec'tions 22 and 24 0f member 17 are preferably equal in lengt'h and also equal to the length cf the arms 19 -of member 16.

A pair of link members 26, equal in length to that of the bracl ets 13, have b'en't o1 curved upper enc'ls "28 to receive and pivota'lly support the sectiofls 23 0f membe'r 17, While the lower ends 29 of links 26 are' bent er ourved to receive and pivotally support the emls of the centralsection 18 "0f mernber 16. Thus a br'aeket 13, a l'ink 26, an arm 1'9, and an arm 24 fonn a parallelogram at each end cf the shelf, and the links 26 are always parallel to the surface cf the Support 11 and m the brackets 13. Accordingly, i't will be apparent that the entire shelf will fold compactly downward substan'ti'ally flat against the surface 11, as sh0'w'n in Flg. and that as the shelf is r'aised, the main sectiun 21 cf holding member 17 Will always be a greater distance from the surface 11 than the main central section 18 of the supporting member 16. With the arm sections 22 and 24 equal in length, this ratio will be two to one.

In accordance with the above, it will be apparent that when an article such as the box 27, Figs. 1 and 2, is placed on the shelf, with the shelf in an open osition, the weight of the article resting on the supporting member 16 will cause it to pivot downward. Through the links 26 the holding rnember 17 will also pivot downward until the central section 21 thereof engages the face of the article 27. Thus the article is firmly held against the surface 11, and lifting the article immediately releases it. As shown in Fig. 3, the shelf is adaptable to hold articles of different sizes, such as the smaller box 27a, where somewhat more pivoting cf the members from a horizontal position occurs before the member 17 engages the face of the article.

While the invention has been described in only the preferred embodirnent thereof, it will be apparent that various modifications can be made therein and various materials used in the elements thereof without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is desired therefore that only such limitations be placed thereon as are imposed by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a folding shelf for receiving and holding articles fo-r display and other purposes, a pair of brackets for attachment to a substantially flat vertical supporting surface' in horizontal spaced relation, each of said brackets having a pair of spaced bearings therein in substantially vertical alignment, a substantially U-shaped article supporting member pivotally mounted at its ends in the lower bearing of said brackets, a substantially U-sl1aped article holding member pivotally mounted at its ends in the upper bearings of said brackets With the arm sections thereof longer than the arm sections cf said supporting member, links connecting said members substantially parallel to said supporting surface and means including said links when said supporting member is pivoted in a downward direction by the weight of an article placed thereon to pivot said holding member against the face of said article and clamp the article against the supporting surface.

2. In a folding shelf for receiving and holding articles for display and other purposes, a pair of brackets for attachment to a substantially flat supporting surface in horizontal spaced relation, each of said brackets having a pair of spaced bearings therein in substantially vertical alignment, a substantially U-shaped article supporting member having a central section terminating in two arm sections pivoted at their ends in the lower bearings of said brackets, a substantially U-shaped article holding member having a central section terminating in two arm sections longer than the arm sections of said supporting member, a pair of links pivotally attached to said members, and means including said links and operative by the weight of an article placed on said supporting member to pivot said holding member against the outer face f said article and clamp the article between said member and said supporting surface.

3. In a folding shelf for receiving and holding articles for display and other purposes, a pair of brackets for attachment to a supporting surface in horizontal spaced relation, each of said brackets having a pair of spaced bearings therein in substantially vertical alignment, a substantially U-shaped article supporting member having a central section terminating in two arm sections pivoted at their ends in the lower bearings of said brackets, a substantially U-shaped article holding member having a central section terminating in two arm sections longer than the arm sections of said supporting member, a pair of links pivotally attached to said members, means including said links and operative by the Weight of an a1'ti cle placed on said supporting member to pivot said holding member against the outer face of said article and clamp the article between said member and said supporting surface, means to remove the clamping action against said article on the lifting thereof from said shelf, and said links being substantially equal in length t0 the distance between the bearings in one of said brackets whereby said members are pivotable to a position sub stantially flat against said supporting surface.

4. In a foldable self-adjusting shelf, a pair of sheetmaterial brackets for attaching to a supporting surface in spaced horizontal relation, the ends of each of said brackets being formed into separated rod receiving bearings in a common plane, a first rod bail member pivotally supported in the lower bearings of said brackets and adapted to move in an arc about an axis through said lower bearings, a second rod bail member pivotally supported in the upper bearings of said brackets and adapted to move in an arc of greater radius than said first member about an axis through said upper bearings, a pair cf links attached to said bail members, each of said links being equal in length to the distance between bearings of one of said brackets, and means including said links to pivot said bails together.

5. In a foldable self-adjusting shelf, a pair of sheetmaterial brackets for attaching to a supporting surface in spaced horizontal relation, the ends of each of said brackets being formed int-o separated rod receiving bearings in a common plane, a first rod bail member pivotally supported in the lower bearings of said brackets and adapted to move in an arc about an axis through said lower bearings, a second rod bail member pivotally supported in the upper bearings 0f said brackets and adapted to move in an arc 0f greater radius than said first member about an axis through said upper bearings, a pair of links attached to said bail members equal distances from the pivoting ends thereof and adapted during movement thereof to remain parallel to said brackets, and means operative on the pivoting 0f said first bail toward the supporting surface due to the weight 0f an article placed thereon and extending thereabove to pivot said second bail against the face of said article.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,219,366 Morden Mar. 13, 1917 1,227719 Wildman May 29, 1917 2,456987 Perkins Dec. 21, 1948 2,518,549 Hyde Aug. 15, 1950 2,672988 Johnson Mar. 23, 1954 

